<p>First off, you need the proper shoes. Lightweight shoes. Breathable too. I love my worn pair of Reeboks - breathable, light, perfect. They’re old, sure, but whatever. If you already have a pair of lightweight shoes, great. If you don’t, they’re not that expensive. The other day I thought that I’d try jogging in my basketball shoes. </p>
<p>Never. Again. Those things were like bricks. I knew it was a silly idea before I even put those shoes on, but I had no clue how much of a hindrance they would be, even if they were pretty new and would absorb the shock about 1000x better than a pair of year-old shoes. </p>
<p>Second, always keep yourself hydrated. I know someone on track, and I have class with him. He always has a bottle of Zephyrhills nearby. He chugs at least three full bottles of it at lunch. He’s probably upped the school’s water bill by $500/month, but whatever. If you don’t hydrate, you cramp. I follow his lead and every morning when I wake up I always drink several cups of water. Throughout the day, I keep a huge thermos bottle nearby, and I always make sure to drink a lot from it. That way, at night, when I go jogging, I’ll be set and ready to go. </p>
<p>Third, proper clothing. For me that means shoes, low-cut socks, gym shorts - nothing fancy; just a pair of well-fitting shorts - and no shirt. Don’t sag the shorts; if anything, pull them up higher than you would usually wear them. Skip the shirt. Shirts add wind resistance and are too uncomfortable in the summer. You’ll never see me jog with a shirt unless it’s winter. </p>
<p>Fourth, stretch before jogging. Stretch everything. Touch your hand to your shoulder blade and pull back. Sit down and put one of your legs out and reach. Stand up and pull one of your legs back and pull. Ahhhh … that feels good. Make sure to watch some YouTube videos on stretching too. Spend about 2-3 minutes stretching - it’s worth it all the way. </p>
<p>Fifth, jog properly. Back straight. Head up - not down. Staring at the ground limits your ability to respire. Arms side by side. I wouldn’t jog with an iPod if I were you. Those things are annoying. I never jog with music. The earbuds flap everywhere when jogging. And these things are annoying to hold on to. Putting them in your pocket is inconvenient because they jiggle around like an extra appendage. </p>
<p>Sixth, build up your distances. Don’t feel bad if you can only jog 50 meters at first. You have 4+ months - that’s easily enough for a 5k. When I started I could hardly jog one block. As caughtintraffic said, follow the 10% rule. </p>
<p>One last random thing: it helps not to eat a huge meal before jogging, and it also helps to brush your teeth and wash your face before jogging. Brushing your teeth will get all of the sticky junk out your mouth and possibly help you breathe better. Washing your face just refreshes you. The best times to go jogging is at night. It’s cool and there’s hardly anyone around to judge. I’ve tried mornings before but I found that I could hardly jog in the mornings - I was too tired from having just woken up. I guess I’m just nocturnal.</p>